Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — China has decided to improve its strained ties with North Korea, which has been moving closer to Russia. China has recently set up three principles in dealing with the North: improvement in bilateral ties, resumption of economic aid and increased involvement with local provinces rather than […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s youthful leader Kim Jong-Un is believed to have suspended the Presidium of the Politburo, the highest-ranking body in the Workers’ Party, officials and sources here say. The Presidium has long consisted three or four members — from the Party, the state, the military and […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un convened an unusual series of meetings of senior Party and military leaders, officials here said. Pyongyang held an expanded meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers’ Party on Feb. 22, presided over by Kim Jong-Un who rules the country […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — China sharply increased jet fuel supplies to North Korea late last year, after sharply reducing shipments for the past two years. Sources here said the surge in supplies has led to a sharp increase in the North’s air force exercises. China which had exported tens of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — The young North Korean leader’s “reign of terror” and continued purges of ranking officials have given rise to “anti-Kim Jong-Un sentiment” among North Korea’s ruling elite members, a South Korean government official said. North Korean military officers and senior officials are increasingly fearful after a key […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — Russia plans to divert resources blocked by sanctions to North Korea to upgrade its sub-standard electrical power infrastructure. In exchange it will reap a strategic bonus. As traditionally strong North Korea-China ties continue to suffer, Moscow is proposing to repair North Korea’s poor power grid infrastructure […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il increasingly sees the younger generation as a threat, sources and defectors here said. The Kim dynasty’s power is based on the state-sponsored personality cult and insulation from outside information. “The younger generation born after the great famine in the md-1990s has […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un is much more fearful of a U.S.-led human right offensive than financial sanctions, analysts here say. “Kim’s concern was reflected by his New Year’s message that emphasized mending ties with South Korea,” a senior government source said. “By creating a reconciliatory mood […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has strengthened his power base at home since the dramatic purge of his uncle Jang Song-Thaek a year ago, officials here say. But Kim has yet to have his first meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping who has instead met several […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Lee Jong-Heon, EastAsiaIntel.com SEOUL — North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un’s younger sister Kim Yo-Jong has surged to the top of the country’s hierarchy and is expected to serve as the No. 2 leader, the position held play by her late uncle, sources and analysts here say. The secretive country has recently […]